Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". Jacobs and Stefan Fatsis have managed to make their off-kilter passions at once charming and compelling by utilizing humor and heart, Pierson's self-indulgence and pretention make it difficult to join her on this literal and figurative journey.Ī lack of focus, an often-cold tone and the less-than-exciting parallel narratives make this slight road memoir a sleepy ride.Īn extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. Or, rather, motorcycles as life force and death force at once: the game played so we can safely approach the end, in which one side is squashed by the other." Unfortunately, Pierson fails to meet her lofty goal the book doesn’t adequately mine such Big Themes. Eventually, the author resorts to explaining the purported purpose of the book: “I realize, with a start, what this book is about: Death. As the story jumps back and forth between anecdotes that don't quite connect, the author struggles to give the narrative context, but the book ultimately feels as if it has no anchor. Though Ryan is a colorful character, as a subject he’s worthy of a magazine article rather than an entire book-much of his story feels like filler. As for the Iron Butts, the center of that thread is John Ryan, the most obsessive of the obsessive, a man who would choose his motorcycle over anything.
While it’s a sad tale, the reporting of the author’s crumbling relationship is well-worn territory. In an odd, misguided combination of marriage memoir and stunt journalism, motorcycle enthusiast Pierson ( The Place You Love Is Gone: Progress Hits Home, 2006, etc.) follows two narrative threads-the road to and from her divorce and story of an obsessive long-distance-riding group called the Iron Butt Association-on a journey to.nowhere.
0 kommentar(er)
